High Blood Pressure and Its Correlates among Assistant Physical Education Teachers in Republic of Benin (West Africa)

Objective: This cross-sectional study carried out in Republic of Benin, aimed at assessing the relation between high blood pressure (HBP) and its correlates in an exhaustive sample of 123 Assistant physical education teachers (APE teachers), enrolled in a two-year in-service training. Methods: These teachers have been interviewed and clinically tested. The lifestyle, blood pressure, three indexes of adiposity, blood lipids, white blood cells and neutrophils counts and plasma C-reactive protein were the main study variables. Results: HBP was present in 34.1% of the teachers. The three main factors associated to HBP, that had the higher rates were neck circumference (78.3%), the biological index of atherogenicity (72.2%), and waist circumference (44.2%). Neck circumference was the most relevant modifiable variable to explaining HBP in this group (OR = 3.14; 95% IC: 1.09 - 9.00; p = 0.033). Conclusions: The teachers studied must keep on exercising as early as their primary training comes to an end. Doing so, they could avoid overweight and reduce the risk of hypertension.